Layoffs of non-news staff hit The Plain Dealer

(This story was updated at 10:35 a.m. Friday, June 21.)
Another round of layoffs is hitting The Plain Dealer, though its newsroom has been spared for now.
A message posted on the SaveThePlainDealer Facebook page Wednesday night said Plain Dealer employees in advertising, marketing, pre-press, finance, building services and information technology were told to go home and wait for a phone call that would let them know if their jobs were cut.
Employees in the newsroom will go through similar cuts at a later date, the message said.
According to a statement issued Thursday by Plain Dealer Publishing Co. president and publisher Terry Egger, the layoffs are a result of a redesign of the company's operations and a realignment of its work force.
This round of layoffs comes as The Plain Dealer prepares for a reduced home delivery schedule and an increased focus on online news. Starting Aug. 5, the paper will be delivered on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, with a smaller paper also delivered on Saturday.
This pending change is similar to others enacted at newspapers that are part of New York-based Advance Publications. On Thursday, the latest of these reorganizations was announced, as The Oregonian shared plans for its reduced home delivery schedule and coming layoffs.
Mr. Egger's statement said the company's redesign of its operations was necessary to ensure its future and that the company was excited to share news about its products and its future as plans are finalized in coming weeks.
“These are difficult decisions, but are necessary,” the statement read.
The statement did not say which departments had been affected, and it noted that the company will “go through a similar process later this summer.”
Management told staff members in December that the newsroom staff would be decreased by about a third, or an estimated 58 employees.

Union head talks of 'stressful time'

Harlan Spector, Plain Dealer reporter and Northeast Ohio Newspaper Guild unit chair, said the newsroom layoffs are expected to come before the change in home delivery. Mr. Spector said the company had not shared how many employees were laid off this week. The guild does not represent the affected departments.
Mr. Spector described a sense of disenchantment among staff and called the cuts “extreme and unnecessary.”
“We're bracing for our own cuts,” he said. “And it's been a stressful time in the newsroom.”
Mr. Spector said employees were nervous about the cuts, as they have been during layoffs in the past, but he expressed surprise that there are a number of employees who have told him they're ready to move on.
“They don't believe in what the company is doing,” he said.
Mr. Spector also criticized the way Advance Publications was handling the switch to digital journalism, saying other newspaper chains were experimenting with paywalls rather than using a click-driven model. He said he thinks the change won't properly support the community that depends on the paper.